Vanshika Unveiled

 A while back, maybe a couple years ago, I heard of this saying.  It was something along the lines of "growth is always outside your comfort zone" and "if it scares you, it might be a good thing to try". I'm not one to latch onto quotes and live by them, but this was really something that stuck with me. It was essentially saying that if you feel fear or nerves before doing something new or putting yourself in a different situation, it just means you have an opportunity to grow. I remember last year, when asked to sing the American national anthem in front of hundreds of people in two weeks time, I was like, "yeah no problem". But being put in that position at that specific time was a whole other thing. I was full of nerves and questioned why would I even do this to myself. I could've just said no and watched, instead of being the one people watched. While this feeling was initially very strong, immediately following the anthem I was filled with not...

 As I reflect on this semester in 12 AP English, it’s clear how much my relationship with reading and writing has evolved. Entering the course, I thought I understood my strengths and weaknesses, but the challenges of this class revealed layers of my identity as both a reader and writer that I hadn’t fully explored. One of the most significant realizations has been the importance of not being so abstract in my essays. It's important to grab onto evidence and have tangible reasoning, instead of these thoughts, though they can have depth. Critical thinking is also something I've learned to develop which also corroborates into me shaping my voice. Analyzing complex texts has challenged my perspective, forcing me to question assumptions and delve deeper into themes and arguments. Reading works like  Saving Sourdi  opened my mind to ideas I really hadn’t considered before, like the decay/evolution of cultural norms through generations. These moments validated the value of step...

Questions softly freeze upon ourselves. Who am I? What do I believe in? Who are my people? Which social role do I follow? How am I supposed to act in public? Which section of society do I follow? To shield yourself from this cold, whose ice numbs you with the undetermined answers of society, you put on your jacket. The jacket is your culture. Culture protects you by answering all your questions, it gives you a purpose. Culture is most often defined as “ the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group” (Oxford). However, this doesn’t encompass even half of the true meaning. Its meaning varies from person to person. For example, one might describe culture as the art, music, passed down through generations; focusing on the tangible expressions in order to differentiate. While the other may say that culture is the collective set of values, norms, and behaviors that shape the way a person thinks; focusing not only on the visible...

We've all been there, right? The moment when you look back at something you did or said, and you're left wondering, "what the heck was I thinking?" Maybe you snapped at someone when you didn't mean to, or treated someone a way you wouldn't want to be treated, and now you're just feeling... so guilty. It's that feeling that, deep down, you're a good person but somehow made a bad choice, and I've personally felt this way more times than I'd like to admit. Reading Othello  gave me a reminder that the line between good and bad is more of a gradient. Othello was introduced in the play as this dark-skinned Moor living in Venice. This decorated military officer that seemed to have everything going on for him. He's shown as a man who beat all odds and now sits at the top through handwork and determination, a picturesque societal representation of success. So how could he have turned into such a bad person so quickly? Well, Othello's downfal...

Who says too many people is a problem? A few weeks ago in my Biology class, we were learning about population pyramids, the rapid increase in population, the decreasing fertility rates, but shouldn't these things cancel each other out? And to be honest, even they didn't cancel each other out, in what world would that be a problem? In fact, the joys of overpopulation are so abundant, it is almost too good to be true! Some may say they cause traffic jams, but isn't this just an opportunity to mingle with others? Who doesn't love spending extra time in a gridlock of cars, air thick with exhaust fumes, all the while exchanging friendly graces with strangers who definitely aren't texting in frustration. And let’s talk about housing—sure, prices are skyrocketing, but have you ever considered the thrill of living in a shoebox-sized apartment? It’s  minimalism  at its finest. With overpopulation comes the joy of containing yourself in a nice, compact apartment and not havin...

          W alking into school on Wednesday, I wasn't exactly psyched to be watching a reinvented version of a  Shakespearean play. Last year, having watched Clyde's, a modern play, I found joy in reading and watching stories/plays that did NOT have a hidden message every other line (like Hamlet and The Great Gatsby). And while Clyde's had significantly heavier topics than I had imagined as it followed the journey of the incarcerated after serving their time, it was more simple to digest and understand as it had an overarching theme that was self-explanatory.         On the other hand, I assumed Fat Ham would either need continuous decoding of the many hidden messages and hints that Hamlet had, or would be too difficult to enjoy and understand. So consider me surprised with the opening scene which is something I never would've expected. The opening scene to me was a small introduction to something I've noticed all throughout: a challeng...